Monday 18 February

Kaikora
This is our second night here. We left Christchurch yesterday morning in a light drizzle and drove through varying degrees of rain, in some places very heavy. It is so unfortunate as we came through the part of the coast known as the Alpine Pacific. As with Catlins Coast the visibility was not good so we did not see so much of the scenery. Even in the rain and low cloud it was obvious that the Alpine description was apt. The road wound between forested canyons, round and round and up and down. On arrival on Kaikora it was still raining, we looked at a couple of informal beach side campsites but because of the weather decided to go on to the tried and trusted Kiwi, even though we suspected in would be crowded. It is probably the nicest Kiwi site we have stayed on, it,s small and divided into hedged grassy areas. We got a pitch in a very nice place, tucked away in a corner. We spent a comfortable evening in the warm kitchen drinking wine and playing cards.
We woke to a beautiful sunny day and for the first time since Te Anau didn't get straight on the road, we decided to stay here for another night. We had a car reorganisation and tidy and did some washing before going a couple of km down the road to visit The Maori Leap Cave. As limestone caves goes it was not spectacular, but extremely interesting because of it's size and our ability to be so close to everything. We were the only people on the 'tour' and our guide was the guardian of the cave, a gentleman even older than ourselves. It soon became apparent to him that we knew a bit about limestone and flint, the history and the geology, so the 40 minute tour became a discussion and lasted 65 minutes. It was extremely enjoyable.
Back to the campsite for a beer and a spot of lunch, then off on the main event of the day, a walk around the Peninsular. This was excellent, the coast here is beautiful, limestone deposits close to the surface creating a wonder world of nays and inlets, with seals and shear waters and many other birds. We stopped at a roadside BBQ hut for grilled crayfish with rice and salad. We were making our way along the road for the last boring 3 kms to get back to the campsite when a woman on a car called over to ask of we would like a loft into town. We were so grateful, we had just walked 12 kms.
It has been warmer today, I wore shorts, however it is still cool out of the sun. Further north tomorrow, so here's hoping.